


Using Your Words

by the_afterlight



Series: Talk Therapy [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: (no seriously it's important, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Cookies, Figuring Yourself Out, M/M, Talking, Using your words, that's why it's the title AND a tag ;) )
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-22 19:48:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9622895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_afterlight/pseuds/the_afterlight
Summary: In the wake of finding Jason's body, Moose decides that he can't risk leaving parts of himself undiscovered -- so he approaches Kevin once again, this time to say that he wants to try itall.Kissing, conversation, and consistently getting walked in on.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been writing fic for something like twenty years, posting for twelve or fifteen, and I think this may actually be the first time I'm posting a WIP as it's in progress, so... Let's see how this goes!
> 
> Fuck knows where this story is going, anyway, but I'm definitely here to find out. Unbeta'd; if you catch anything egregious in terms of typos and the like, please let me know?

Hearing the front door open, Kevin called out, "I'm in the kitchen!" before turning back to his cookie dough. Rolling out the little balls of dough and squishing them down was always soothing, he'd found, and afterwards there were delicious cookies, so it was a double win. "Cookies in ten!" He finished the last ball of dough, flattened it, and slid the tray into the oven. He reached for his phone to set the timer. "Honestly, Betty, it's not like you to be so quiet."

There was a soft chuckle, deeper than Kevin expected, and he looked over in shock. "I'm not Betty," Moose rumbled, leaning against the doorjamb into the kitchen. "Can I still have one of the cookies?"

"How did you-" Kevin sputtered. "What are- Why- What are you _doing_ here?" He reached blindly for one of the knives in the knife block, hitting it and knocking it across the counter in his panic.

"Your dad let me in," Moose explained. "Sorry, I... I didn't think you'd answer if I texted, or whatever. You didn't really seem too into, y'know..." He shrugged, and Kevin, despite himself, couldn't help but follow the shift of his shoulders under his -- very tight -- t-shirt. "Talking."

Kevin's heartrate was, blessedly, slowing down, as was his breathing, and he nodded. "Yeah, no, you're right," he said. "I wouldn't have. So... ambushing me? At home?"

Moose smiled, a little ruefully. "Class wasn't working, and I didn't really want to have this conversation anywhere _else_ at school... Have you told anyone?"

For the barest moment, Kevin considered lying, but he knew how he'd have felt if someone else had lied to _him_ about outing him. "Betty," he admitted. "Like, at the dance, after you first, uh, propositioned me. And Veronica. No one else. And they won't say anything." He made a face at himself. "Archie maybe knows. I haven't really been careful around him. But it's Archie, so..."

Moose snorted. "Even _I_ know that Betty's been in love with him since third grade. I don't know why he never figured it out." He shuffled a bit, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Look, I wanted to apologise. I know I came on kinda strong. I figured... I dunno what I figured."

Realising that he was still clenching his phone, Kevin relaxed his hand and put it carefully down on the counter before walking across the room. He stopped what he judged was a safe distance away from Moose before offering a shy smile of his own. "No, it's-- I must have seemed pretty hot-and-cold to you. Mixed messages, or whatever."

"... A little."

"It's-- I'm still freaked out over Jason, okay?" Kevin admitted, in a rush. "About-- finding him." He made a face at himself, wincing. "It's not... It's not you. It's barely even me. It's just, I don't know, it's just what it is."

"I think finding Jason's body is what..." Moose turned a bit, leaning his back against the doorjamb rather than his side. "I don't want to die knowing I haven't figured this out," he admitted. "That's why I was coming on so strong at school. Because I-- I know I like girls, right? Midge and I, that was awesome, she's great. And I _think_ I like guys. I want to try-- things. With you."

Kevin smirked. "Well, your options in Riverdale _are_ pretty limited. I guess I'm your best bet for figuring out if you like butt stuff."

"What? No." Moose shook his head. "That's not what-- I mean, yeah, I want to try, uh, butt stuff, too. But I... I lied, after the dance."

Leaning back slightly, resting against the edge of the counter, Kevin frowned. "About what?"

Moose took a deep breath and turned his head to look directly at Kevin, meeting his eyes. "I really, _really_ want to try kissing you." He sagged, tension releasing with the admission. "Not because you're, like, the only gay guy in the school, or whatever. Because you're you."

Kevin opened his mouth to say something in reply, although he had no idea what, when his phone began to buzz on the counter. "Saved by the bell," he muttered, letting out a relieved breath of his own. "Hold that thought," he said, a little louder, "and let me get these cookies out." He turned back to the oven, grabbing a dishtowel rather than one of the oven mitts to hold onto the sheet as he pulled it out. Moose moved up close and reached for the pan, prompting Kevin to slap at his hand with the towel. "Not yet!" he admonished. "They need to cool." He turned and found himself right up against Moose. "Uh..." he said, very eloquently. "Uh. So. You... want to kiss me?"

Moose nodded. "Uh huh."

"And... you like _me_?"

"Uh huh."

"I--" Kevin swallowed and leaned back slightly. "But what about Midge...?" He blinked, rolling back the conversation in his head. "Wait, you said, 'that was awesome'? Was?"

"... Uh huh?" Moose said, a third time, although this was more confused. "Like, Midge and I broke up this summer?"

"Oh my God, it helps if you _tell people_ that," Kevin moaned, dropping the towel on the floor and stepping forward into Moose. "Please, please tell me if you want me to stop, you've got to promise me-"

"I will," Moose assured him. "I promise." And then he leaned down, letting his lips brush against Kevin's.

It wasn't exactly Kevin's first kiss, and while he knew it was probably Moose's first time kissing a _guy_ , it's obvious that the other man had more than enough experience kissing in a general sense. It was chaste, at first, just a quick touch of lip to lip, before Kevin drew back, watched Moose smile at him, and dove back in, pushing harder. One hand came up to cup Moose's cheek, while Moose reached around and rested one hand at the small of Kevin's back. Finally, they broke, and the two stepped back, breathing heavily. "Wow, uh," Moose said. "... Wow."

Kevin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, pretty much," he replied, smiling up at Moose. "So... verdict?"

"I definitely like kissing you," Moose confirmed. "It's... different. But good-different. So I guess I'm... gay?"

"The word you're looking for is 'bisexual,'" Kevin offered. He took another step back and grabbed a spatula before starting to move the cookies from the baking sheet to a cooling rack. "Conveniently, it means you get to like both guys _and_ girls." He poked one of the cookies, giving it a quick squish, before picking it up, breaking it in half, and offering a piece to Moose.

Moose blinked, took the cookie, and asked, "... So that's actually a thing?" before shoving the cookie into his mouth.

"Yeah." Kevin nibbled at his half of the cookie, sighing in delight as the flavours melted over his tongue. "Yeah, definitely a thing. I mean, not _my_ thing, obviously, but a thing. Your thing. Probably your thing? I, y'know, don't really actually get to decide that for you." He smirked up at Moose. "We could always, uh, try again, if you're still not sure?"

Moose swallowed the cookie and grinned back at Kevin. "That sounds good." Just as he leaned down, however, they heard the front door open and he jumped back, eyes wide with panic.

"Kevin?" Betty called, from the entryway.

"Fuck. I forgot she was coming over." Kevin groaned. "Uh, she does... know, so is it okay if...?"

Moose blanched. "Maybe... Uh."

Betty called out again. "Kevin?"

"In the kitchen?" Kevin called back. "It'll be okay," he assured Moose. "We just... won't say anything. She can think whatever she wants to." 

"Betty's smart," Moose pointed out. "She'll probably figure it out anyway."

Kevin looked over as Betty walked into the kitchen. "Heeeeeey, Betty!" he chirped.

"Kevin," Betty responded, looking at him with a question in her eyes. "Hello, Moose. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Uh, hi, Betty." Moose shuffled, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. "I was just leaving."

Kevin bit back an instinctive, "No!" at that, pushing down the urge to object so strongly, but Betty picked up on it. "No, it's okay," she insisted. "Kevin and I were just going to do our biology homework, anyway."

"Yeah, you're in that class, too," Kevin pointed out, "so... stay and work with us?"

Moose shoved his hands in his back pockets, shrugging. "If you're sure," he asked, and Kevin nodded. He shot a look at Betty, who nodded.

"I'll be right back," she said, rolling her eyes in the way that Kevin knew _totally_ meant she was laughing at him on the inside. "Uh, washroom. Don't eat all of the cookies!"

As she turned down the hallway, Kevin reached up and grabbed Moose's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Are you okay with this?" he asked. "Seriously, if you'd rather leave, it's okay."

"And miss the cookies?" Moose joked, although Kevin thought there was still a slight edge of panic underneath it that Moose was trying to cover up. "Besides, if Betty helps with my homework, I'll probably go up three grades." He covered Kevin's hand with one of his own, squeezing back. "Thank you for... y'know, talking."

Kevin grinned, leaning in close. "Just the talking?"

"The kissing was fun, too." Moose leaned in the rest of the way, giving Kevin another quick kiss before pulling away. "Uh, we should... talk later?" he asked. "About, uh. What this is?"

"Whatever it is," Kevin agreed. "After Betty leaves?" he asked, grabbing the cooling rack and bringing it directly over to the kitchen table, where his backpack was already waiting. 

Moose nodded, then laughed. "She already knows, doesn't she?"

"Probably about two seconds after she walked into the kitchen," Kevin confirmed. "C'mon. It'll be okay. And if nothing else, we have cookies."

By the time Betty got back to the kitchen, a few minutes later, Kevin and Moose were huddled close at the kitchen table, talking over their biology textbook. Stifling a laugh, she moved over beside them, grabbed a cookie, and pulled out the book. "Okay, guys, so here's where we start..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try for Tuesday/Saturday posting! Bear with me while I figure this whole WIP thing out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear this is going to end up more than just scenes of people talking at _some_ point, but I'm not actually sure yet when that's going to be. XD
> 
> I'm looking at once-a-week Tuesday updates rather than the twice-a-week Tues/Sat I was thinking about originally, at least until I can get ahead a little on the writing. ... And while I wait and see where the series is going, after episode three was such a giant clusterfuck of horrible, hamfisted writing. Such a disappointment after the first two episodes.

Not long after Betty's mother had called her home to dinner, Kevin's phone buzzed beside him on the table. He and Moose were still huddled together over their biology homework, working out the last of the problems together while they were still focused, although they'd been slowly moving closer to each other the entire time they'd been studying. Checking the text message, Kevin snorted, holding it up for Moose to see. "Okay, she has definitely figured it out," he said, chuckling under his breath.

"What do you mea- oh. 'Good luck!' Yeah, that's..." Moose sighed, hanging his head. "She really won't say anything?" He sat back in his chair, moving away from Kevin, putting a little distance between them. "Because I... I'm not sure I'm ready for..."

Kevin shook his head and reached out, a little hesitantly, for Moose's hand. "Hey, there's not really anything _to_ say, right?" he pointed out. "Or to tell anyone. We've barely even kissed at this point." And, y'know, been flashed in the bathroom at a school dance, and almost gone skinny dipping before stumbling, literally, over a dead body, but, Kevin mused, who was counting? "She'll keep it quiet, though, don't worry. God, she knew I was gay for like a year and a half before I told anyone else. She... She doesn't _get_ it, but she still kinda gets it."

Moose nodded. He flipped his hand as Kevin reached for it, grasping firmly at the contact like a lifeline. "So you're okay with me, y'know, not..."

"Coming out?" Kevin laughed, and used their joined hands to pull Moose a little close. "Moose, _I_ barely want to be out in this town and I've known I was gay for, like, six years now." He shook his head. "I mean, if this goes somewhere? Yeah, I'd like to be able to, y'know, hold your hand at Pop's while we share a shake, or whatever the straight teens do. But for now?" Shrugging, he leaned in, resting his forehead against Moose's. "Whatever. You've known, acknowledged, that you're bi for approximately three seconds. Give yourself some time to adjust before you start making life-changing announcements."

From the doorway, someone cleared their throat, and Kevin and Moose sprang apart. "Maybe consider telling your parents, too, first," Kevin's father suggested, raising an eyebrow at them. "They've probably got questions enough already, after what you two pulled after the dance."

Kevin groaned, keeping hold of Moose's hand when the other boy tried to pull it away. "Dad, it is _not_ my fault that-- You know what? I'm not having this conversation right now." He turned to catch Moose's gaze and gave his hand another quick squeeze before pulling away, shooting Moose an encouraging smile as he did. "Dad, Moose and I were just finishing up our homework. Can you and I talk later?"

Despite Kevin's quiet encouragment, Moose's expression was verging on panic as he said, "No, it's-- I can go. Right? Uh. Hi, Sheriff Keller."

Sheriff Keller smiled reassuringly, as best he could. "Hello, Moose. No, it's okay, you two finish up what you're doing." He shot Kevin a significant look. "I'm just home for a few minutes anyway, Kevin, I've gotta run back to the station for a bit. Y'all just... be careful, okay?" Kevin nodded in reply, and his father left the room without another word. A few seconds later, the front door opened, and closed, and at the sound, Kevin relaxed.

"So... That happened," he said, leaning back in towards Moose. He rested his head on the other boy's shoulder, stifling laughter. "You okay over there?" Under Kevin's forehead, Moose's shoulder was quivering. Moose didn't answer right away; a moment later, Kevin felt his head shake, and he looked up to see Moose's eyes squeezed tightly shut, like he was trying not to cry. "Hey, hey, hey, it's okay. Dad -- I mean, I didn't _tell_ him, but... Dad kinda knew why we were by the river, y'know?"

"Is he-- Is he going to tell my parents?" Moose asked, voice tight with the stress of holding back his tears. Kevin hesitated, and Moose asked again, anger vying with fear for control of his voice. "Is he. Going. To tell. My parents."

Kevin sat back, shaking his head. "No, he's... He wouldn't do that," he insisted. "I mean, he'll probably keep suggesting that _you_ tell them, unless there's a specific reason you don't want to...?" Moose didn't respond to the leading statement, so Kevin shrugged. "You need a ride home?" he asked, instead. "I mean, I'm not kicking you out, but if you're ready to head out..."

"No, no, I'm good," Moose said, sniffling and rubbing his hand under his nose in a gesture that Kevin told himself he really shouldn't find so adorable. "It's not far, I'll just jog it. You, uh, you good to bring my homework tomorrow?" He nodded at the loose papers scattered over the table. "I don't really have a bag with me..."

"Yeah, I can do that." Kevin began shuffling all of the papers into some semblance of order. "You want to come over tomorrow after school? We can, uh, study, and... y'know, talk some more."

Moose stood up, hunching his shoulders, his hands in his pockets. "I've got practice. But maybe after?"

"My schedule's wide open." Kevin grinned up at him. "Hey, seriously. It'll be okay, all right? If you want to go back to ignoring me completely at school, I'm... not really okay with it, but I totally understand. I'll deal." Moose huffed a soft laugh, raising his head to look at Kevin and roll his eyes.

"I'm not gonna ignore you," Moose insisted. He bit at his lip, worrying it for a moment. "Uh... Before I go, can I... y'know."

Kevin raised an eyebrow, smirking. "I do? I don't know that I do. Can you what?"

Moose groaned and punched Kevin lightly in the shoulder. "Can I kiss you again?"

"Yeah," Kevin said, grabbing Moose's hand and pulling him down. "Yeah, I think that can be arranged."

* * *

Kevin rolled over, groaning, his sheets twisting further around him as he tossed and turned. He turned to look at his clock, bright green numbers offering almost as much illumination as the moonlight coming through his window. "Not even midnight." He sat up and grabbed his phone from his bedside table; turning the screen on left him staring at the same window he'd closed it on earlier: a text from Betty, received 8:28 PM, asking only,

_Do you need to talk about it?_

Sighing, Kevin flopped back onto his pillows, staring at the screen for several long seconds before replying, _Obviously. I have no idea what I'm doing._ It was even odds, Kevin knew, whether Betty would still be up this late; between her AP class workload and her mother's... encouragement, he knew Betty was often awake far later than she should be doing homework. Sure enough, it only took a few seconds before his phone buzzed in his hand. He answered the call. "Hey, B," he said, quietly. His dad was still out, probably still at the station, but he'd always felt weird about disturbing the silence in the dark house, late at night.

"Hey, Kevin," Betty replied, drawing it out. "So... Moose, huh? I thought you weren't going there?"

Kevin rolled his eyes, but instead of answering directly, asked, "So did you know that Moose and Midge broke up this summer? Because I had no idea." He could picture Betty biting her lip as she processed that, in the silence between them.

Finally, she said, "No, I didn't, actually, but then they were always pretty quiet about things anyway. Did he say why?"

"I didn't ask," Kevin admitted. "I was a little distracted at the time trying to devour his tonsils."

"Oh, my God, Kevin," Betty admonished. Some quiet shuffling sounds came over the connection, followed by a soft whump, so Kevin figured she'd gotten up from her desk and flopped down onto her bed. "Do you have any idea what you're doing here? I mean, I know you're... not inexperienced..."

Kevin snorted. "I'm as much of a slut as I've been able to be in a podunk town like this," he corrected, "and you fucking know it. But no, this is skirting _dangerously_ close to relationship territory at this point which you and I both know is _completely uncharted_ for both of us." He coughed, clearing his throat. "And, uh. Dad kind of, uh, walked in on us? Not actually kissing, but it was pretty clear what was going on." For a few long moments, Betty didn't say anything; Kevin even pulled his phone away to check if his call had been dropped _again_. "... Betty? You still there?"

"Sorry," she apologised immediately. "Just processing. I'm a little tired, sorry. You know what time it is, right?"

"I've been tossing and turning for the last hour," Kevin bit out, "so, yes, I'm well aware." 

"Kev-"

"No, sorry," Kevin said, sighing. "I'm just. Things seemed really clear talking to him in the kitchen, but what the fuck do I think I'm _doing_ , Betty? You know why I fuck the straight jocks -- they're curious, they won't say a word because they don't want people to think they're queer, and it's really clear what we both want out of it going in. This thing with Moose... We _did_ both just want the same thing," he explained, "but now... He's freaked out about Jason. Hell, _I'm_ freaked out about Jason. What happens if I give this a try and he decides he doesn't want to risk being the 'gay jock of Riverdale' after all?"

Betty sighed, and said, gently, "You get your heart broken." She laughed, a little dryly. "Just like the rest of us." 

Kevin closed his eyes. shutting out the darkness of his bedroom for that behind his eyes. It was more familiar, more comfortable, than facing any part of the real world at that moment. "Shit, Betty. You... You're the best, you know that?" He laughed back, just as dry. "You deserve far better than Wonderbread Andrews, no matter what his abs look like now."

"Doesn't make it any easier right now. It was never about the abs, anyway."

"Just think, though," Kevin said. "In, what, three years, we'll be out of this town, off to university in... I don't know, you'll probably be at Harvard or something, and I'll be at UCLA or somewhere with lots of fun, sun, and hot guys." 

That made Betty laugh, just a little, even if it was a little choked off. "Because clearly the most important thing about a university is the number of hot guys available, right?"

"Well, it's not like it _hurts_." Kevin's smile fell of his face. "... But... What am I going to do, Betty?"

He could almost hear Betty switching gears in her head, from emotional to analytical. "Well, do you need to decide _now_? Do you even have enough data to make a good decision?"

"... Yes?" Kevin tried, before following up, quickly, with, "No, no, I don't. I guess I should probably try and talk to Moose about some of this, right?"

"It's a start," Betty agreed. "Look, Kevin. Maybe you'll get your heart broken. Maybe you won't. Maybe you'll end up high school sweethearts and make us all sick at our twenty-five-year reunion. You don't _know_. And, hey, maybe getting your heart broken once or twice in high school isn't such a bad thing, after all." She chuffed a soft laugh that turned into a yawn. "Oh, sorry. It's just, I've been working on this paper..."

"And it's almost midnight," Kevin finished. "No, thanks, you've been a big help," he told her. "I should try to actually get some sleep, anyway. I need my beauty rest, after all."

He could hear the smile in Betty's voice when she said, "If he's smart, he'll really give it a try. You're a good guy, Kevin, and a great friend."

"Thanks, B. You, too. Sleep well, okay?"

"Mm, you, too," Betty replied, over another yawn. "Good luck. I'll see you at school."

Ending the call, Kevin flipped over to his contacts, staring at Moose's name for almost a minute before opening a new text message.

_I had fun tonight,_ he wrote. _Looking forward to tomorrow._

Staring at it for another long minute, Kevin hit send, turned his phone to silent, put it aside, and rolled over in his bed. He was asleep in moments.


End file.
